


As he fell

by sari15



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 20:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3704483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sari15/pseuds/sari15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A single moment’s distraction might have inadvertently caused him to break the promise he'd made. He's not allowed to die.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As he fell

As he fell, he waited for the impact of the ground beneath him to hit. Only then would darkness be able to consume his consciousness. The blackness surrounded him before awareness drifted away, something he hadn't been expecting. A single moment’s distraction might have inadvertently caused him to break the promise he'd made. He couldn't move; feeling the air whipping around him until the moment his body hit the ground. Though his eyes could no longer see; the expression of horror on the princess's face as he took the hit that had been aimed for her etched into his memories.

He had no regrets.

The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth as the screams of familiar voices echoed around him. Slowly as the seconds passed, they faded away like his vision until nothing remained. A single voice whispering on the wind "You aren't allowed to die..."

* * *

   
Birds. That was his first conscious thought. The birds were extra loud and annoying today. So was the sun. Even though his eyes were shut, he could see the reflection of gold and pink behind his lids and it made him just want to bury his head where the light couldn't find him. Pain shoots through his body as he attempts to move, it feels like he's just been stabbed and screams from the agony from the fire in his joints.  
   
"Hak?" The familiar sleepy feminine voice instantly calms him. He can’t see her anyway but it’s obvious she’d been sleeping. Almost instantly her voice changes and she sounds wide awake. "Hak? Can you hear me? Hak?"

"Mn. Don't yell," he manages to say quietly, head suddenly pounding on top of the rest of the pain. He’s trying really hard not to move a single muscle and experience that agony again.  
   
"Yoon!" she ignores the request he'd barely managed to make and screams at the top of her lungs instead, dropping the hand Hak hadn't even realized she'd been holding until she'd let it go. "He's awake. He woke up. Yoon!"  
   
He tries to move his fingers to take the hand again but every single muscle in his body feels heavy and she's moved too far away to be able to manage it. The emotion in her voice is palpable, as if she's trying to hold back tears and Hak can’t help but wonder exactly how long he’s been out.

“See, I told you he’d be waking up soon and to just be patient,” Yoon said to Yona before obviously turning his attention to Hak. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been drugged and can’t move.” Squinting at the light, he attempts to open his eyes and adjust to the sun. Luckily, he’s in the tent and most of the light is not as bright as it would be outside.

“Good. You’ve been drugged for about a week. We had to tie you down when the fever hit, so you might be a little sore.”

Well that explained an awful lot, he couldn’t help thinking.

“You have to stop doing this, Hak,” Yona said, grasping his hand again. Tears stream down her cheeks as she starts to cry. Instinctively, he moves to wipe them away but winces in pain and drops his hand back down. It only makes her cry a little harder. “You almost died. Again. I don’t even know how you survived that fall. And then you got a fever from your injuries and I—I can’t lose you.”

“I’m going to go make something to help with the pain and see if I can’t get those idiots lurking around outside to help me with a few things. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Yoon said, gathering a number of his belongings before carefully making his way to the door. Hak wonders if the kid is running away for some reason. “Call me if you need me, okay?”

Yona is still crying and doesn’t answer and for some reason Hak is certain that question isn’t quite aimed at him. But almost instantly the two of them are alone again. The squeeze he gives her hand is gentle, almost weak. “You forbid me to die, remember? I won’t go down that easily.”

It was a joke, but the entire atmosphere in the room changes to something much heavier and dense. It’s almost choking by how thick it is in the tent. The tears in Yona’s eyes continue but her back straightens and along with the tears is a very familiar determination. Her hands are shaking but the words she is forcing herself to say finally come. “I’m letting you go.”

He feels the world tilt on its axis and come to a screeching halt. She can’t mean what he thinks she means, there’s no way. “You’re…?” The drugs have obviously addled his thoughts completely. He’s confused and doesn’t understand.

“You aren’t immortal, Hak. I can’t keep depending on you like this. I’m releasing you from your promise to my father. I don’t need you anymore.”

He’s in a state of shock in so many ways, unable to grasp anything with a solid mind but he does understand what she’s trying to say. “I refuse.” Because, what the hell is she even thinking?

“I’m not giving you a choice. Consider it my final order if you need to.” He’s never refused an order from either King Il or Princess Yona. When given a choice, he will speak his mind or chose the path he decided for himself, but if an order was given that was law. “You don’t have to honor my father’s request anymore.”

“You just said you can’t lose me! Why are you doing this?” Ignoring all the pain he manages to get into a sitting position as he drags his hand away from her. Why? Why is she doing this?

“I can’t watch you die, Hak! You’re different from everyone else. I can’t do this again,” she started crying harder as she spoke. Hands reaching up to cover her face as the crying turned into sobs. “I’m only been keeping you here for my selfish reasons and it’s not fair to force you to stay here because of some promise you made out of respect for someone else.”

He blinked in stunned surprise, heart racing in his chest. “What’s different about me?” She’d said that before and he’d never gotten an answer.

He reaches a hand up to pull one of her hands away from her face and the cheek he uncovers is bright pink. “It’s just—I want to get stronger and stronger so I’m not a burden on you. I want to reach you but every time I think I’m getting close I find out how far away I really am. You’re there protecting me and I almost lose you completely. I can’t handle that.”

“You don’t want me to go away, do you.” It’s a statement, not a question. And just as he suspected, Yona shakes her head. No. She doesn’t want him to go away. And so, Hak shoots for the moon. “Are you in love with me?”

Her eyes widen, violet eyes briefly seeking out his blue until they connect for only a moment before her gaze flitters nervously away again but not before her cheeks bloom crimson about an identical shade as her hair. “I. Um. I…”

“Do you want to kiss me?”

“I hate this side of you!” She shoves him in the shoulder and he hisses in pain as his back hits the ground. “Oh no! Are you okay? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

The feeling of knives jabbing into his back makes it difficult to breathe, but he manages to force out a single sentence. “It would feel much better if you kissed me, I’m sure.”

“Stop teasing me, Hak.”

“It’s never been a promise to your father that keeps me here,” his fingers curl around her sleeve, trying to get her attention with a gentle tug. “I wanted to protect you. Even if it kills me, you’re the one I always wanted to protect and keep safe. Sorry, but that’s the one order I’d refuse. Besides, you’re anything but a burden. If I’m not here, I’d be afraid you’d start slacking on your training. You need a goal, right?”

The tears this time are accompanied with a watery smile before she leans over and presses her mouth against his. The muscles around his lungs tighten as his heart pounds wildly in his chest; he just barely manages to get his hands to her hair before she pulls away. With a smile to rival the sun that was high in the sky at the moment, Hak quietly whispers “Do it again.”

And this time, he kisses her back.


End file.
